To win the title All-Around Champion, the Cowgirl and Cowboy must complete in more than one event. For the ladies, that could be a combination of Breakaway Roping, Mixed Team Roping and Barrel Racing. For the gentleman, that could be a larger combination that includes Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Tie-Down Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Team Roping or Bullriding.

The All-Around Champion is based on their total earnings in each event that is tallied together. The winner is the contestant that has the most money won.

A wild 8-second ride on a powerful bucking horse without the benefit of a saddle, reins or stirrups. All they use is a "suitcase handle" for a handhold! The handle is a leather "riggin" that's placed behind the horse's shoulders. The rider holds onto this handle with a single hand encased in a specially designed glove.

Riders must stay aboard for eight (8) seconds to make a qualified ride. Touching his body, the equipment or the horse with his free hand will disqualify the rider and give him a no score for his efforts. Two judge's award up to 50 points to the horse and up to 50 points to the rider for a total of one hundred possible points available for each qualified ride. Points are awarded for the bucking pattern and power of the horse, as well as the rider's strength, control and spurring action.

This is one of the most dramatic events in rodeo. It's a wild ride that puts horses up against strong-willed cowboys determined to stay aboard until the 8-second whistle!

The name of this horse-racing contest comes from the colored barrels around which the women riders run a triangular pattern in the rodeo arena. Barrel racers are allowed a running start in to the arena as they head toward the cloverleaf pattern of three barrels.

Charging in full speed, they must rein their horse in and spin around the barrels. Repeating this around each barrel, they spur their horses as they angle toward the last barrel at the far end of the arena and turn toward the start/finish line. Tipping over a barrel during her maneuvering will cost the barrel racer a five-second penalty and she can be disqualified for running an incorrect pattern. Electronic timers are used to record elapsed time between crossing the start/finish line in hundredths of a second. With well-trained, strong-willed horses and fiercely competitive cowgirls, one or two hundredths of a second are often all that separates the final standings in this all female event!

Rodeo's oldest event, Saddle Bronc riding is a combination in style and finesse that demands near-perfect timing. Modern day competition evolved from the need to break or tame wild horses to be used on a ranch and for range work.

This event matches the bucking horse with a carefully balanced cowboy who must ride the horse for eight seconds to make a qualified ride. The cowboy uses an approved saddle with stirrups and a six-foot braided rein that he holds with one hand only. Saddle Bronc riders are disqualified if they touch their body, the horse or their equipment with their free hand. This rough stock event is more a contest of balance and finesse than one of brute strength. The rhythm forces the timing of the bucking horse and rider, to be coordinated between lifting on the rein and spurring with dull, rounded spurs. Two judges combine scores to mark each horse up to 50 points for their bucking ability and the cowboy up to 50 points for their riding skill and style.

Modern day Saddle Bronc riding is a far cry from the day when the cowboy who got bucked off had to walk back to the ranch. It's now an event of balance and style!

Team Roping requires the effort of two cowboys also known as the header and the heeler. The header ropes first. He may rope the steer around the head and one horn; around the neck, or around both horns. The header then rides forward taking the steer in tow.

The heeler then rides up from behind the steer and ropes its hind legs. Catching only one hind leg will result in a five second penalty. If the heeler tosses his loop before the header has changed the direction of the steer (moving forward), it's called a "cross-fire" and results in disqualification. Time is stopped when slack is out of both ropes and the contestants are facing each other.

The challenge to this event is working together as a TEAM. This team consists of a Cowgirl and a Cowboy. The goal is for both partners to rope a steer in the fastest time! The success of the Mixed Roping team requires many long hours of practice to perfect their timing with each other as a team and as partners with their horses.

As with the Team Roping event, you have a header and a heeler. The header must rope the horns of the steer, while the heeler must rope both of the back feet of the steer. The rules are the same as in Team Roping. Either partner can be the header or the heeler.

This event has proven to be very popular for couples who rodeo together. It has also proven that Cowgirls are just as competitive as Cowboys!

Don't blink your eyes………you'll miss the fastest event in rodeo! Two to three seconds is the normal winning time in this all-girl roping contest. The cowgirls use a 25-foot long rope. The rope is tied to the saddle horn with string and has a handkerchief or other colorful cloth attached next to the horn. The object is to get the calf roped and break the string as quickly as possible.

The calf is given a designated head start in to the arena before the cowgirl can begin her chase. The cowgirl who breaks the barrier by leaving the roping box too soon receives a 10 second penalty to her time. As the cowgirl ropes the calf and pulls her slack, the highly conditioned quarter horse comes to a sliding stop causing the string on her saddle horn to break. Time is stopped at this point. A lot of action for two or three seconds!! So, don't blink your eyes or you might miss an incredible display of split second timing and amazing teamwork.

Bull riding is one of the favorite spectator events in rodeo. At the same time, it can be the most dangerous and most entered event. Bulls can be so unpredictable because of their tendency to abruptly spin left or right with no letting up in the sheer power of the animal.As in other rough stock events, bull riders are only permitted to hold on with one hand and can be disqualified for touching their body or the bull with their free hand.

A flat plaited bull rope and riding glove are used in the cowboy's effort to secure himself to the back of the bull. The rider inserts his gloved hand into a handhold while a chute helper pulls the bull rope tight around the waiting bull. The tail of the bull rope is then laid across the bullrider's palm, looped around the back of his hand and returned to his palm where it is gripped in a tightly clenched fist. If a bull rider manages to stay aboard for the eight seconds, two rodeo judges combine scores up to 50 points for how well the bull bucks and 50 points for how well the cowboy maintained control during the ride.

Bull riding matches an incredibly powerful animal against a determined cowboy to try and record spectacular riding feats in the rodeo arena!

Steer Wrestling or bulldogging as it's often called, is another rodeo event which developed in the competitive arena. Now cowboy would ever dive off his horse on to a 500-pound steer at 35 miles an hour on the open range!

Steer wrestling is the only rodeo event in which a contestant is permitted to use a helper, known as the hazer. A 500 lb. Horned steer leaves the chute, tripping a barrier line which signals the contestant and hazer to race to each side of the steer. As in other timed events, a broken barrier will add 10 seconds to the competitor's time for starting too early.

With the hazer paralleling the steer to keep it running straight, the steer wrestler must catch up to the steer, lean off his horse at top speed and end up with a firm grip on the steers horns. Once on the ground, the steer wrestler must plant his feet, bring the steer to a stop and wrestle it to the ground. A rodeo judge will stop time when the steer is on its side with all four feet pointing in the same direction. Once known as the "big man's event", due to the brute strength required, recent emphasis on quickness and technique have produced phenomenal times by large and average sized cowboys alike. With constant practice and top horses, it often requires a time of less than five seconds to win this top competition!

One of the oldest events in rodeo is tie-down roping which evolved directly from work on the range and ranch. During the annual spring roundup, calves had to be roped by a single cowboy for branding and "doctoring".

In the rodeo arena, a calf roper teams with his partner – his horse – in a contest of split second timing and uncompromising teamwork between man and animal. One misstep by either man or horse can cost a fraction of a second, which separates winners from losers in this timed event. The calves get a designated head start of 8 to 16 feet in to the rodeo arena and must trip a barrier string before the cowboy and horse can begin their chase. The cowboy who "breaks the barrier" by leaving the roping box too soon has a 10 second penalty assessed to his time.

Once safely in to the arena, the roper must catch his calf with a 25 foot rope, dismount his horse, run down the rope being held taught by his horse, flank the 200 to 250 pound calf to the ground, gather three of the calf's legs, tie them together with a six foot "piggin" string and throw up his hands to signal the end of his run. If an observing judge has not noted any rule infractions and if the tie holds for six seconds, the calf roper's time becomes official.